Institute of Sociology
Director of the Institute of Sociology
Tomasz Nawrocki, PhD, DLitt, Associate Professor
Deputy Director of the Institute of Sociology
Rafał Muster, PhD, DLitt, Associate Professor
Institute of Sociology
The establishment of the Institute of Sociology of the University of Silesia on 30 September 1976 was a natural consequence of the development of this particular field of study in Upper Silesia. By the time Gen. Prof. Sylwester Kaliski, the former Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology, issued a resolution founding the Institute, for almost two decades institutionalised sociological research had been conducted in the region. The origins of this new university unit can be found in the Silesian Scientific Institute established in 1957. Sociographic Commission, Sociological Commission, Sociological Laboratory and the Department of Sociological Research[1] operated within the structure of the Institute. The Department consisting of 12 staff members was headed by Prof. Wanda Mrozek, a student of Florian Znaniecki. She also led the newly established Institute from the very beginning.
Agencies of the Polish Sociological Association (PSA) played a significant role in the development of sociology in Katowice. As Prof. Wojciech Świątkiewicz wrote: “[…] in 1963 contacts were established with the sociological community in Krakow, and Henryk Dutkiewicz, PhD was elected as a member of the Management Board of the PSA branch in Kraków, and acted as the delegate for Upper Silesia. In 1968, by the decision of the Management Board, a branch of PSA was established in Katowice, and entered into the register of the Internal Affairs Department of the Voivodeship Office in Katowice on 27 November. Wanda Mrozek was appointed the president of the branch, and served in that capacity for many subsequent terms. Prior to the establishment of the Institute of Sociology of the University of Silesia, the PTA branch in Katowice was centred around sociologists working at the Silesian Scientific Institute and had its headquarters there as well”[2]. The accounts of this period paint a picture of passionate enthusiasts of sociology, who formed a cohesive team, and carried out research regarding the issues that were important at the time. Professor Kazimierz Z. Sowa pointed this out in his published recollections: “When it comes to working in the said team of the Sociological Research Department of the Silesian Scientific Institute, I remember a very pleasant, friendly atmosphere, as well as frequent, interesting and regularly held scientific meetings, conducted by Assistant Professor Wanda Mrozek, usually involving an intriguing lecture and a lively discussion”[3].
The need to form the Institute of Sociology of the University of Silesia arose not only due to the rapid development of this field of study, but it also had its own regional justifications. The specific character of the region of Silesia and Dąbrowa Górnicza, and the transformations taking place there, influenced the establishment and diagnostic tasks of the unit. Professor Wojciech Świątkiewicz emphasises that the creation of the Institute was a “response to the social needs regarding the increase of sociological research, and education of sociologists to meet the needs of a highly industrial region with specific economic and socio-cultural characteristics”[4]. Such origins of sociology in Katowice were reflected in the research areas explored since its inception. They included a variety of issues whose scientific relevance matched the problems important from the point of view of the region. The original areas of research included, among others, issues related to industrial work (team first led by Prof. Janusz Sztumski, then by Prof. Władysław Jacher), phenomena of social pathology (Prof. Jacek Wódz’s team), culture of the region (Prof. Kazimiera Wódz’s team, and Prof. Wojciech Świątkiewicz’s team), social planning and perception of urban areas (teams led by Prof. Jacek Wódz, Prof. Kazimiera Wódz, Prof. Marek S. Szczepański, Prof. Wojciech Świątkiewicz), characteristics of the social structure of Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie region (originally the team led by Prof. Wanda Mrozek, then Prof. Zbigniew A. Żechowski, and Prof. Wojciech Świątkiewicz), and regional and local development (teams led by Prof. Marek S. Szczepański and Prof. Jacek Wódz). In addition, studies were also conducted on the issues of methodology of social science[5].
Since its very beginning, the Institute has focused on performing two fundamental university functions. One of them is the increase of human, social and cultural capital, which means not only equipping students with knowledge and professional skills, but also passing on the axionormative system, in which such categories as trust, goodness, tolerance or mutual respect are important. The second function is acquiring and archiving both theoretical and practical scientific knowledge[6]. The awareness of the necessity to combine these two functions with a friendly, collegial atmosphere of professional cooperation, despite occasionally difficult external circumstances, is still the fundamental principle of the Institute’s identity.
Prof. Wanda Mrozek’s successors as the heads of the Institute of Sociology were, in the following order: Prof. Władysław Jacher, Prof. Marek S. Szczepański, and Prof. Wojciech Świątkiewicz. Currently, Tomasz Nawrocki, PhD, DLitt, is the Director of the Institute of Sociology, with Rafał Muster, PhD, DLitt, acting as his deputy. A great deal of research has been conducted over forty years since the establishment of the Institute of Sociology of the University of Silesia in Katowice, helping to make the social reality more comprehensible. This includes research which made a permanent contribution to the development of this discipline, but also research which had a direct influence on the specific areas of social life. A large number of people have acquired their sociological skills here, some of them exert a significant intellectual influence on the development of their communities, while others continue to pursue their interests and passions in various ways, using the competences they have acquired.
A picture of the Institute’s history would certainly not be complete without highlighting one more issue, one that cannot be easily measured, and is difficult to describe, but is of crucial importance to the sociological and scientific community in Silesia. More than four decades of institutionalized sociology have witnessed many friendships, both in master-student relationships and in terms of developing bonds between academics. The sociological community of Silesia is not an alliance of researchers engaged in their own passions and projects, but rather a true community, aware of its origins, based on mutual respect and friendly cooperation. It recreates and creates, often in spite of various external difficulties, the atmosphere conducive to scientific work, which Simone Weil advocated for when she wrote “[…] intelligence flourishes and bears fruit only in joy. The joy of science is as essential in studies as correct breathing is for runners”[7]. The Institute of Sociology in Katowice is a community of highly varied personalities, united not only by a similar scientific passion, but also by a friendly disposition to one another, and an awareness of the importance of a good, collegial atmosphere, deeply rooted in history, and now carefully updated together. The kind of atmosphere that allows for justified hope of further development of the Institute and its individual staff members, to the benefit of the outside world, students and, most of all, the extremely important and necessary branch of knowledge, which sociology still turns out to be.
[1] Kilka kart historii…. http://www.is.wns.us.edu.pl/instytut/historia-instytutu (accessed: 18.12.2017).
[2] ibid.|
[3] K.Z. Sowa: Kilka refleksji i wspomnień z mojej pracy na Śląsku. In: Ład społeczny i jego przedstawienia. Księga jubileuszowa Profesora Jacka Wodza. eds. T. Nawrocki, W. Świątkiewicz. Katowice 2016, p. 29.
[4] M. Dziewierski, T. Nawrocki: Aneks. In: Grupa etniczna – region – tożsamość kulturowa. eds. M. Dziewierski, T. Nawrocki. Katowice 1997, p. 153.
[5] ibid.|
[6] A. Śliz, M.S. Szczepański: Od Akademii do Uniwersytetu XXI wieku. W: Dostojny uniwersytet? eds. A. Śliz, M.S. Szczepański. Warszawa 2014, p. 17.
[7] S. Weil: Wybór pism. trans. by C. Miłosz. Kraków 1991, p. 52.